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Tuesday, 15 September 2026
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Written by Sheila D Barker
As the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Temple Theatre is opening its 2026-27 Mainstage season by returning audiences to the room where the debate over independence unfolded.
1776 The Musical, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, runs Sept. 10-27 at Temple Theatre, 120 Carthage Street, in downtown Sanford. The Tony Award-winning musical dramatizes the Second Continental Congress and the political maneuvering, arguments, and compromises that preceded the Declaration of Independence.
For director and Temple Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peggy Taphorn, opening the season with 1776 during the nation's semiquincentennial was a natural choice.
“1776 felt almost inevitable for this moment,” Taphorn said. “We are celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence, and there is no better way for a theatre to participate in that commemoration than by putting the founding of our country onstage and inviting our community to experience it together.”
But the anniversary is only part of the reason for revisiting the musical.
“We didn't choose 1776 simply because the number on the title matches the anniversary,” Taphorn said. “The musical asks a much more interesting question: How does a group of deeply divided people actually create a nation? That question gives the production relevance beyond the historical anniversary.”
The original Broadway production of 1776 opened in 1969. Rather than treating the creation of the Declaration as a foregone conclusion, the musical places the audience inside the political struggle required to make independence possible.
John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia are at the center of the story as supporters of independence attempt to persuade a divided Congress to break with Great Britain.
The show was created by Edwards, a former history teacher who spent years researching the American Revolution before developing the musical. Stone later came aboard to write the book, focusing on the arguments and political maneuvering of the Continental Congress. Despite its historical setting, 1776 is not intended to be a documentary.
“Our job isn't to turn the musical into a history lecture,” she said. “Our job is to respect the history while allowing the storytelling, music, humor, and emotional truth of the musical to live.”
The musical presents Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and the other delegates not as marble statues but as people capable of being stubborn, frightened, passionate, vain, funny and occasionally ridiculous.
Taphorn said the actors have been encouraged to ask questions about their characters that history books and portraits cannot necessarily answer: What made them angry? What frightened them? What were they willing to sacrifice? What were they unwilling to confront?
“Those questions make the characters much more interesting—and much more recognizable and relatable,” she said.
Audiences may also recognize something surprisingly contemporary in debates that took place two and a half centuries ago. Regional divisions, competing interests, political stalemates and the difficult balance between compromise and principle are all woven into the story.
“We don't have to force contemporary parallels onto the story. They're already there,” Taphorn said.
The delegates represent different regions and interests. They become entrenched in their positions while believing they are acting in the country's best interest. Somehow, they must determine whether they can move forward despite their differences.
“That is recognizable to us today,” Taphorn said.
However, she does not want the production reduced to an analogy for current politics.
“It's bigger than that,” she said. “It's about the human challenge of governing, of listening to people with whom you disagree, of deciding when compromise is necessary and when a principle is worth fighting for.”
Rather than directing audiences toward a particular conclusion, Taphorn hopes the production gives them room to consider those connections themselves.
“Theatre is at its best when it gives people something to think about rather than telling them exactly what they are supposed to think,” she said.
Producing 1776 during America 250 also means confronting the contradictions embedded in the country's founding. The Declaration's assertion of equality existed alongside a society in which slavery remained entrenched and large portions of the population were excluded from the political rights being debated. For Taphorn, that makes it important that 1776 not become simply a patriotic pageant.
“The Declaration of Independence contains extraordinary language about equality and human rights, while the society creating that document was deeply unequal and depended in part on slavery,” she said. “That contradiction is impossible to ignore, and the musical doesn't allow us to ignore it either.”
Her approach is not to resolve that tension for audiences.
“We want audiences to sit with that discomfort,” she said.
The ideals contained in the Declaration would ultimately be invoked by abolitionists and generations of Americans fighting to expand civil rights, even as the country's founders themselves failed to live fully by those principles.
“We can honor the ideals without pretending the people who articulated them always lived up to them,” Taphorn said.
That complexity is particularly important during a milestone anniversary. Rather than simply asking audiences to celebrate the nation's founding, Taphorn sees the 250th anniversary as an opportunity to examine it.
“These are not people who have everything figured out,” she said. “They disagree. They become frustrated. They make compromises. They have blind spots.”
Instead of presenting a collection of uncomplicated heroes, Temple's production presents human beings wrestling with an enormous idea and making decisions whose consequences would stretch far beyond the room in which they were made.
For Taphorn, theatre offers something that a textbook, museum display or historical document cannot entirely replicate: the sensation that history is happening in front of the audience.
“You can read the Declaration of Independence and understand its significance intellectually,” she said. “You can look at a portrait of John Adams or Thomas Jefferson and know what they looked like. But when an actor stands in front of you and says those words, argues that argument, loses his temper, changes his mind or refuses to compromise, suddenly history becomes immediate.”
That immediacy may be particularly suited to 1776 because, beneath the powdered wigs and familiar names, the musical isn't really about the signing of a piece of paper.
“It's about the messy, frustrating, funny and deeply human process that led to that document,” Taphorn said.
Live theatre also makes that exploration communal. For a few hours, people with different backgrounds and perspectives sit together and watch another group of people—separated from them by 250 years—struggle with questions about government, compromise, ideals and the future of a country.
“For a regional theatre like Temple, that's a wonderful responsibility,” Taphorn said. “We aren't just bringing history to Sanford. We're giving our community a chance to have a conversation about it together.” And perhaps that conversation is the most fitting way to mark 250 years. “If audiences leave the theatre entertained, moved, and perhaps asking a few questions they weren't asking when they walked in, then we've done our job.”
1776 runs Sept. 10-27 at Temple Theatre, 120 Carthage St., Sanford. Mainstage tickets are $40 for adults, $25 for children and students, and $32 for active military members and Lee County educators with ID. Group rates are also available. For tickets and additional information, visit Temple Theatre's website at https://templeshows.org/ or contact the box office at 919-774-4155.
(Photo: Jacob Barton portrays Edward Rutledge in 1776 the Musical. Photo courtesy of Peggy Taphorn)
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Tuesday, 18 August 2026
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Written by Sheila D Barker
A $12,500 Grassroots Arts Project Grant is helping Artist Village Community Theatre take significant steps forward during its 2026-27 season, including exploring new theatrical genres, creating more opportunities for young performers, and taking a production beyond the traditional stage.
The Hope Mills-based nonprofit received a grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County to support its upcoming season, which includes three productions, including Witches!? In Salem!?, The Toys Take Over Christmas and a youth production of Peter Pan. The funding will help cover artist and technician expenses, licensing, production materials, venue costs and marketing.
For Artist Village Executive Director Teresa Davis, the season represents an opportunity for the community theatre to stretch beyond what audiences have seen from the organization in the past.
“In the past, our productions have generally fit into well-known genres, with shows such as War of the Worlds, It’s a Wonderful Life, Dracula, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Nunsense,” Davis said. “Our previous seasons have also primarily been designed for adult actors, even when youth roles were available.”
This year, Davis said Artist Village wanted to step outside that model by exploring new genres and expanding its approach to casting and theatre education.
“It felt like the right time for Artist Village to grow, experiment and create opportunities for a broader range of artists and audiences,” she said.
That growth is being made possible in part through the Grassroots Arts Project Grant program. The Arts Council launched the program as part of a restructuring of its grant funding, with grants supporting smaller-scale arts, culture and history projects in Cumberland County. Funding for the program is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Allocation and the National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Art Projects program.
Davis said the $12,500 investment is particularly important because of the scope of what Artist Village hopes to accomplish this season.
“This season is ambitious for Artist Village in many ways, including financially,” Davis said. “We simply could not tackle a season of this scope without the generous grant funding we have received.”
The three productions are expected to provide artistic opportunities for approximately 60 artists and technicians from Hope Mills and the surrounding Sandhills area.
Something wicked, and funny, comes to Hope Mills
The season begins in October with Witches!? In Salem!?, a dark comedy by New York playwright Matt Cox set against the backdrop of the Salem Witch Trials.
The production examines the accused, accusers and bystanders caught in the hysteria while using humor and history to explore fear, conformity, power and injustice. It is also new territory for Artist Village.
“This dark comedy, written by New York playwright Matt Cox, is Artist Village’s first real dive into comedy, and certainly our first exploration of dark comedy,” Davis said.
Adding to the atmosphere will be the venue. The production will be staged at the historic Thomas Campbell Oakman Chapel, located along Hope Mills Lake at 3715 S. Main Street.
“The combination of the location, the subject matter, and the unexpected humor of the play creates something we believe will captivate both our actors and our audiences,” Davis said.
Artist Village’s website describes the production as “edu-tainment,” using an eighth-grade student guide to take audiences through the events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials.
Taking Christmas on the road
For the holidays, Artist Village will present Patricia Clapp’s The Toys Take Over Christmas, a family production about a hardhearted toymaker whose nearly magical creations long to leave his workshop and experience Christmas with children.
The story introduces audiences to characters including Tina, a fashionable doll; Sunny the rag doll; a wooden soldier; a timid clown and an assortment of other toys working to change their creator’s heart. But the holiday production will also mark another first for Artist Village: the theatre plans to take the show on the road.
“This production will also mark our first step into ‘tour life,’” Davis said.
Artist Village hopes to bring the production to a Hope Mills-area school and an assisted-living audience in addition to offering public performances in December.
Giving young people the theatre
The spring portion of the season represents perhaps the largest expansion of Artist Village’s educational mission. For the first time, the theatre’s spring production will be dedicated specifically to middle and high school students with Peter Pan Youth Edition.
The production will offer young participants more than the chance to perform. Artist Village plans to structure the experience as a theatre workshop in which students can learn about choreography, costumes, props, scenic design and the fundamentals of directing.
The goal is to introduce young people to the many ways they can participate in theatre—not just the roles audiences see under the stage lights. Auditions are planned for January 2027, with additional information expected near the end of 2026.
Artist Village Community Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to entertain, inform and educate youth and adults while enriching the cultural life of the community through the arts. The organization emphasizes inclusiveness, participation, quality and collaboration, with a vision of becoming a significant cultural asset in the Hope Mills area.
For Davis, however, the impact of the new season and its grant funding reaches beyond what happens onstage. Artist Village hopes performances will bring people into Hope Mills, where theatergoers may also visit local restaurants, shops and other businesses. At the same time, Davis hopes the season encourages cultural appreciation and artistic development.
“Most importantly, we want people to see that the arts belong to everyone,” Davis said. “Whether you are nine or nearly 80, whether you have years of experience or have never stepped on a stage, there should be a place for you in the arts.”
That philosophy extends to people who have no desire to perform. Artist Village relies heavily on volunteers for everything from set construction and sewing to greeting audiences and selling concessions.
“I always say that if you can operate anything from a paintbrush to a power tool, we have a need for you at Artist Village!” Davis said. “Whether you want to perform, build a set, sew a costume, sing, usher, volunteer or simply share our programs with a friend, there is a place for you,” Davis said. “We hope to see you in the Village!”
While financial support makes productions possible, Davis said community participation remains the organization's most valuable resource. Artist Village currently brings together a variety of participants, creating a place where people with different backgrounds, experience levels, and abilities can participate in the arts.
Before the curtain officially rises on the new season, Artist Village will invite the community to help support its upcoming productions with a pre-season murder mystery dinner theatre fundraiser Aug. 21–22. Set in October 1776 amid the turmoil of the American Revolution, the interactive mystery takes guests to the Beacon Tavern on the Massachusetts North Shore, where a spy has infiltrated the resistance and a suspicious colonist who is close to uncovering the culprit is killed before he can reveal the spy’s identity. Tavern guests must then unravel the clues, identify the killer, and bring the spy to justice.
The evening includes dinner featuring salad, meat or vegetarian lasagna, dessert, and soft drinks, with a cash bar available. Taking place at the Arts XL building at 214 Burges Street, all the proceeds will help Artist Village meet the costs of producing its 2026–27 season. For more information or tickets, visit their website at https://ww.artistvillagehm.
(Photo: Actors with the Artist Village pose for a photo in costumes for their 2025-26 production of Nunsense. The company will be performing three new productions for this next season. Photos courtesy of Artist Village)
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